When the ambassadors had heard these answers, they withdrew, very much confused, and returned to Paris. On the ensuing Saturday, while the duke of Burgundy was in his hôtel d’Artois, he was informed, and it was a fact, that the queen and the duke of Orleans, with all their force, had marched from Melun, and were on their road to Paris.
The duke, on hearing this, mounted his horse, and rode to the hôtel d’Angiers, where he found the king of Sicily, the dukes of Berry and of Bourbon, with other lords of the king’s council, who, when they knew of the arrival of the said duke of Orleans, were all greatly astonished; for this was in direct contradiction to their intent, and to the treaty which they were meditating between the parties.
The duke of Burgundy had a great number of men at arms, as well within Paris as without, who bore for motto on the pennons of their lances, in Flemish, Hie Houd! that is to say, ‘I have possession!’ in opposition to the device of the Orleans-party, Je l’envie![[94]] The greater part of the duke of Burgundy’s forces drew up in battle-array on the summit of Montfaulcon, to wait the arrival of their adversaries.
In the mean while, the populace of Paris rose; and multitudes armed themselves to oppose the entrance of the duke of Orleans, suspecting his intentions were to give the town up to pillage and murder. They pulled down many sheds, that no obstructions might be found in the streets to the full use of the lance, and that shelter might not be afforded against the stones thrown down from the roofs of the houses.
Many scholars armed themselves for the defence of the bridges; and true it was, that the Parisians were far more favourable to the party of Burgundy than to that of Orleans, and were willing, should there be occasion, to assist that party to the utmost of their power.
The duke of Burgundy was fully prepared to resist and combat the duke of Orleans, had he advanced as far as Paris. But the chancellor and presidents of the parliament, with other prudent men, observing the great ferment in Paris, made many visits to the hôtel d’Angiers, with a view to reconcile these princes, and avert the great mischiefs that might otherwise ensue. They likewise sent messengers to the duke of Orleans, to inform him of the state of Paris, and how very unpopular he was there. The duke and the queen, on hearing this intelligence, after a short consultation with their most confidential advisers, separated: the queen went to the Bois de Vincennes, and the duke returned with his army to Corbeil.
On the morrow, he came to Beauté; and his army was quartered near the bridge of Charenton, and in the adjacent country. During this time, the before-named princes, with many great lords and members of the council assembled, and met for several days, to consider of a reconciliation between the two parties. After some time, they at length made known to each their determination, which was, that within two days the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy should submit the whole of their disputes to the decision of the kings of Sicily and Navarre, and the dukes of Berry and Bourbon; and for the accomplishment of the decision, they were each to bind themselves by their corporal oath, and afterward to dismiss their forces. The duke of Orleans came to lodge at his hôtel at St Anthony, near the bastille.
A few days afterward, the princes before named managed the affair so well that the two dukes made up their quarrel, and apparently showed in public that they were good friends; but He who knows the inward secrets of the heart saw what little dependance was to be placed on such outward appearances.
The duke of Lorraine and the count d’Alençon, after this, returned home with their men, without entering Paris; and not long afterward, the duke of Burgundy departed, with his brothers and men at arms, for Artois, and thence to his county of Flanders, where he had a conference with his brother-in-law duke William, the bishop of Liege, the count Waleran de St Pol, the count de Namur[[95]], and several others. When this was ended, he returned to his town of Arras.